Akin Bus Tour Stops in Jefferson City and Columbia

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JEFFERSON CITY - Senate candidate Todd Akin spoke to media and supporters at the state capital building Thursday morning and then made the trip to Columbia in the afternoon to speak at the Boone County Republican headquarters.

This was Akin's eighth and ninth stop in three days with the Missouri Common Sense Bus Tour, which will make a total of 14 stops in Missouri Cities by Friday.

About 25 people showed up to hear Akin in Jefferson City, with close to that amount in Columbia. He spoke to the media for 20 minutes about earmarks, Senator Claire McCaskill's stances on popular Missouri issues and his own position in the Senate Race. Akin said McCaskill is "totally out of step with where the people of Missouri are." He supported this by discussing her stance on "Obamacare" and NRA ratings.

Protestors from Planned Parenthood and the National Organization for Women (NOW) greeted Akin from the third floor of the capital rotunda and the sidewalk on Business Loop 70 in Columbia.

At the capitol building, the protestors were originally waiting on the first floor, but Capital Police told them to move to the third floor because their permit was only valid there. Mike O'Connell, communications director for the Missouri Department for Public Safety, referenced the Missouri Code of State and said that the Capital Police were just making sure that permit was followed.

Michelle Trupiano, Missouri lobbyist for Planned Parenthood, said that Akin is not in line with what Missourians want. "We know it's important for us to get the word out that he is just too farm extreme for the people of Missouri," Trupiano said. "That he does not care about women's health. He wants to roll back our rights decades, and we need to actually stand up, take a stand and make sure people know how extreme Todd Akin actually is."

But one Akin supporter thinks that Akin is exactly what woman in Missouri need. "He has stood his ground against his own party, against the other party, against big business, against popularity, against fame, because he does the right thing," Julie Thomas, a member of "Women for Akin" said.